


Of Guardian Angels and Pratty Princes

by Queen_of_Camelot (The_Lady_in_the_Red_Cape)



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Guardian Angels, An angel falls in love with a human, Angel & Human Interactions, Angel Wings, Angel!Merlin, Angel/Human Relationships, Beautiful relationship, Destiny, Fate, Fate & Destiny, Forbidden, Forbidden Love, Guardian Angels, M/M, Merlin is a Little Shit (Merlin), Oblivious Arthur, One Shot, POV Merlin (Merlin), Protective Merlin, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:07:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24512824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Lady_in_the_Red_Cape/pseuds/Queen_of_Camelot
Summary: Merlin is made to be the guardian angel of a prince called Arthur Pendragon. He doesn't like it.And then, he does.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 227
Collections: BBC Merlin Rare Fair, Extraordinary Merlin FanFics, MERLIN, MERTHUR, Merlin, Merlin Fanfiction, Merthur, Merthur fics





	Of Guardian Angels and Pratty Princes

_Merlin was done. He was done being a guardian angel_.

All his life, he had been preparing for this day, waiting to be assigned to someone awesome. And when he finally became qualified enough, he was made the guardian angel of a prat named Arthur Pendragon.  


He was a prince, it seemed. The only son to the King of a place named Camelot. Now, if you’re expecting to see a chivalrous, smart and well-mannered prince, you’re going to be disappointed. Merlin observed Arthur for one day, and had seen enough to know that he was a hopeless dollophead.

But Kilgharrah was firm on his decision. He was the one who could read people’s destiny, and accordingly sent them a suitable guardian angel. 

“There must be another Arthur, because this one’s a complete idiot.”, Merlin had argued.

“Which is why you must protect him, Young Angel.”, Kilgarrah replied. “Arthur Pendragon will one day be the greatest King Camelot has ever known. He will be the one who unites the land of Albion. But he wouldn’t be able to survive on his own; not with enemies lurking at every corner. He might be strong and good with a sword, but he has the self-preservation skills of a child. You must help him fulfill his destiny. You both are. . . how do I phrase this. . . _two sides of the same coin.”_

Merlin rolled his eyes.

But rolling his eyes didn’t change the fact that from now on, he was Arthur Pendragon's guardian Angel.

_ _ _

Merlin’s first day was so bad that he wondered if he should just kill Arthur himself. The idiot couldn’t take a single step without falling in trouble. Merlin had to keep magicking obstacles and threats out of the prince’s path, and there happened to be _too_ _many_ of them. The prat couldn’t even bathe himself without leaving the soap on the floor and almost stepping on it. He would have fallen and broken his skull if Merlin hadn’t made the soap disappear in the last second.

And then there was the risk of getting caught. All guardian angels are invisible, but they’re hundred percent tangible, audible and their unique scent can be detected. Even though it had only been a day, Arthur had already sensed a foreign presence. It irked Merlin that the prince, while being daft and oblivious in literally every other matter, decided to be extra alert when it came to his guardian angel.

When Merlin, by mistake, stood a little too close to Arthur in his chambers, the blonde turned around unexpectedly, and his fingers brushed one of Merlin’s wings. Merlin yelped. His wings were extremely sensitive. Even the slightest contact ignited strong sensations that rendered him shivering and whimpering. 

Apparently Arthur had heard him yelp, because he looked just as alarmed as Merlin was. He whipped around, looking for the source of the sound. Finding himself alone in his chambers, the prince assumed to have imagined it and brushed it off. But that was not the end of Merlin’s woes.

That evening, in the armory, Arthur sensed his scent. Every guardian angel has its own, and Merlin was strawberry-scented. Arthur began sniffing, (very much like a dog) and began walking in the angel’s general direction. Merlin backed up until he hit the wall, and when Arthur kept coming closer, he panicked and magicked himself out of there. He had avoided being discovered, but it was a close call.

Merlin had already risked getting caught twice, and this was just the first day.

_ _ _

Merlin did a great job at protecting Arthur. 

One day, during a hunting trip, Arthur spotted a unicorn. Being the prat that he was, he immediately decided to kill it with his bow and arrow, completely oblivious to the misfortune it would bring to him and the kingdom. Just before the arrow hit the animal, Merlin changed its direction so that it hit a tree instead. The unicorn jumped at the noise of the arrow piercing into the bark and quickly galloped away. “ _Damn it!_ ”, Arthur muttered in frustration. Merlin smiled.

Then the other day, Arthur attacked a Druid Camp because of the kingdom's unbelievably stupid fear of magic. Merlin, deciding that Camelot didn’t need any more enemies than it already had, cast a spell to make the prince and all his knights drop unconscious on the spot. The Druids, being the innocent and harmless people they were, used the chance to escape. Once Arthur came to, he was _so_ confused about how, when and why they had fainted. His eyebrows were knitted together and his lips, parted. Merlin smiled.

Sometimes, when Arthur was being too arrogant to his servants, Merlin taught him a lesson. He displayed his naughty side, and Arthur didn’t stand a chance against it. During a council meeting, Arthur stood hunched over the table, discussing reinforcements. Merlin’s eyes flashed gold, and the prince’s breeches came undone, and sunk down to his knees.

As soon as Arthur realized what had happened, he blushed furiously and struggled to pull up his pants and fumbled with his belt. Everyone at the table pointedly looked away until the prince had fastened his clothing securely in place. Merlin watched Arthur carry on with the meeting, the tinge of red never leaving his cheeks. He looked gorgeous, all flushed and embarrassed, and for the next few days, he was being a very good boy. 

Merlin smiled. 

_ _ _

As the days passed, (and Merlin hated to admit this) he really began liking Arthur. He stayed by his side even when he didn’t have to. Like at night, when the prince was sleeping. Angels didn’t have to protect their ward when they were sleeping, unless the angel sensed danger. But Merlin stayed with Arthur every night, watching his placid expression as he slept, the moonlight dancing on his bare chest, that rose and fell slowly with his every breath.

Merlin realized to his horror, that he was developing a _crush_ on Arthur. Now, it was extremely unusual for an angel to have such feelings towards a human. Merlin tried to chase them away by reminding himself that Arthur was an idiot. But he was an _adorably clumsy idiot_ , and it was virtually impossible not to fall in love with his smile.

Soon Merlin was growing too fond of the way the prince sighed when he cracked his knuckles, the way he had the most precious little sneeze and the way he moaned when he sat down in a bath of hot water after a long day. The last one made Merlin feel heat rushing to places where Angels _definitely_ shouldn’t be feeling heat.

Merlin realized that this was not going to end well.

_ _ _

Then one night, his worst nightmare came true.

Or his best dream. They were the same thing for Merlin.

Arthur entered his chambers to retire for the night and plopped onto the bed. He blew out the candles and closed his eyes. Merlin watched from the window sill, where he sat. 

Arthur tossed and turned, apparently not able to fall asleep. After a while, he let out a groan, and sat up. He rubbed his eyes and swung down his legs to the floor. He stood up and began walking to the water jug, but stopped dead in his tracks when his gaze fell on the window. Arthur’s eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. Arhur looked like he’d seen a ghost.

_Or an angel._

The prince walked towards Merlin, the shock never leaving his face. Merlin was about to faint in fear. _How the hell could Arthur see him?_

“You’re. . .”, Arthur whispered, raising a hand and brushing his fingers against Merlin’s cheek. Merlin shivered. _“You’re an angel.”_

This was bad. This was _very_ bad. Artur was able to see him. Something had gone wrong. There was a glitch in the angel network. But that was impossible! And yet it was happening.

“You’re dreaming.”, Merlin choked out, hoping that his extremely lame trick would work. 

It did.

“Oh. . .”, Arthur said, eyes still glued to Merlin. The prince looked mesmerized. His fingers traced Merlin’s pale white skin down to his neck. Merlin shuddered again. 

Then Arthur’s eyes moved to his wings. He reached out a hand and touched it. Merlin moaned loudly from the sensation, but immediately shut up and tried to regain his composure.

“ _Go back to sleep, oh, Handsome Prince_.”, he said in a sugar-sweet voice, and then inwardly cursed himslef for saying ‘ _handsome_ ’.

“I feel like I know you.”, Arthur said, inching closer, still looking stunned and amazed. “Your presence feels so. . . _familiar_.”

And just like that, he dipped his head to the crook of Merlin’s neck and inhaled. Merlin bit his lower lip to stifle his noises. 

“You smell like strawberries.”, Arthur said, his breath tickling Merlin's neck.“That scent is familiar, too.”

Merlin gently grabbed Arthur’s arms and even more gently pushed him away. “ _You’re dreaming. Dreams never make sense._ ”, he said, smiling. 

“You’re so pretty. . .”, Arthur said, looking into his eyes. Merlin blushed. 

The prince sighed. “If this is a dream, then I guess it wouldn’t matter if I did _this_.” He closed the space between them, and pressed his lips to Merlin’s.

In that moment, Merlin felt like the luckiest angel in the universe.

But just as quickly as it began, the kiss ended, and Arthur looked at Merlin dreamily.

“ _I hope to see you again, Angel.”_ , the prince whispered. He turned, walked back to the bed and dropped onto it. Merlin silently said an incantation that sent Arthur to sleep right away.

Once the room was filled with the soft sound of Arthur’s steady breathing again, the angel groaned.

_Merlin was done. He was done being a guardian angel._


End file.
